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Abstract. In this paper we explore an activity-centered computing paradigm that is aimed at supporting work processes that are radically different from the ones known from office work. Our main inspiration is healthcare work that is characterized by an extreme degree of mobility, many interruptions, ad-hoc collaboration based on shared material, and organized in terms of well-defined, recurring, work activities. We propose that this kind of work can be supported by a pervasive computing infrastructure together with domain-specific services, both designed from a perspective where work activities are first class objects. We also present an exploratory prototype design and first implementation and present some initial results from evaluations in a healthcare environment.

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In this paper, we examine the requirements for future middleware to support mobile and pervasive applications and identify key research areas. We illustrate the research areas with requirements identified in two specific research projects concerning pervasive healthcare and home entertainment.

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Abstract. Versioning of components in a system is a well-researched field where various adequate techniques have already been established. In this paper, we look at how versioning can be extended to cover also the structural aspects of a system. There exist two basic techniques for versioning -intentional and extensional -and we propose a unified extensional versioning model for versioning of both components and structure in the same way. The unified model is described in detail and three different policies that can be implemented on top of the general model are exemplified/illustrated by three prototype tools constructed by the authors. The model is analysed with respect to the number of versions and configurations it generates and has to manage. Finally, the unified extensional model is compared to more traditional intentional models on some important parameters. The conclusions are that the unified model is indeed viable. It not only provides the functionality offered by the intentional model with respect to flexibility during development and management of combinatoric complexity, but also offers a framework for management of configurations that enables systems to provide much more advanced support than is commonly available.